In many organizations, it is necessary to route documents from person to person, for review and/or approval, among client computers connected to a computer network. Such routing of electronic documents to a list of recipients has been difficult, if not expensive. One approach routes a document through a central server. The server operates using a proprietary software program that is installed on the server and acts as the hub to a distribution center. The user designates the document and the list of recipients. The server progressively sends the document to each person on the list. Each time a recipient sends the document back to the server, the server increments the recipient list and then forwards the document to the next recipient in the list. When the list has been exhausted, the document is sent to the originator. A primary impediment to successfully completing a document review cycle is that a person who needs to review the document never receives the document, usually because a person before him in the review chain has not forwarded the document.
An alternative to purchasing a specialized software package is to broadcast the document to all of the intended recipients. Each recipient adds their comments or modifications to the document and sends the resulting document back to the originator. The originator must then manually collate all of the modifications into one document.
It would be advantageous to provide an electronic document routing system that does not require a server-based proprietary software application and easily integrates into the client's existing email system. It would further be advantageous to provide an electronic document routing system that automatically performs versioning and collating of the document for the user.